Parents: How do/did you get your toddlers to stay in bed at night?

[Chordata]

Have a 3 year old who's been in a "big girl" bed for nearly a year. Within the last 2 months, however, as soon as we put her down at night, she immediately gets up and comes out of her room.

Then we put her back, and she does it again. And again. And again. For hours. There's lots of hugging, kidding, crying, yelling, shaking of heads, "potty!" breaks, etc.

For those of you that have encountered this, how'd you get through it? What worked for you?

Yes, this forum is now my personal Parents Magazine forum.

[pokefan]

lol, We have the same problem with our son. (same age) We just tell him if he doesn't want to go to sleep he can stay in his room and read his books or play with what toys he has. He HAS to stay in his room though. So his only options are play/read or sleep. He's usually passed out within 30-45 minutes.

Our biggest problem lately though has been him waking up at 5 in the morning! He won't go back to sleep either and it's been a huge pain the last 3-4 months!

[Chordata]

Originally Posted by pokefan

lol, We have the same problem with our son. (same age) We just tell him if he doesn't want to go to sleep he can stay in his room and read his books or play with what toys he has. He HAS to stay in his room though. So his only options are play/read or sleep. He's usually passed out within 30-45 minutes.

Our biggest problem lately though has been him waking up at 5 in the morning! He won't go back to sleep either and it's been a huge pain the last 3-4 months!

We can have our kids duke it out in lieu of UGA traveling to OSU in September. What do you say?

Totally sympathize with you re: 5am. We're right there, too.

[Teabaggins]

jesus juice...MJ had some good ideas

[Psychonaut]

I knew when I saw Teabaggins was the last one to post that he had stolen the alcohol trick from me.

[DarkDune]

Originally Posted by O_V_N

Have a 3 year old who's been in a "big girl" bed for nearly a year. Within the last 2 months, however, as soon as we put her down at night, she immediately gets up and comes out of her room.

Then we put her back, and she does it again. And again. And again. For hours. There's lots of hugging, kidding, crying, yelling, shaking of heads, "potty!" breaks, etc.

For those of you that have encountered this, how'd you get through it? What worked for you?

Yes, this forum is now my personal Parents Magazine forum.

In our case, our son usually has a toy clutched in his hand. He basically would play with it and that would prevent him from sleeping. You could always tell he was over-tired though cause he would get so sensitive. So I would do the put him back, he comes out, put him back thing...then tell him I will take the toy if he comes out again. There would be more crying when I would take it, but give him a bottle of juice or warm milk and he would soon be out. The toy was the real issue.

Now that he is older, he likes a nightlight to be on so he will stay in his room and play with the legos I had 29 years ago (whole other story), until he falls asleep. When they get older, they learn to play in there room

[Footloose301]

Smear some peanut butter on their pillows and they'll stay there for hours.

[Deadset]

I can still put my son in the crib, but I'm not looking forward to those days where he is "free range"

I like the idea of staying in your room, read and play. That would work till they hit kindergarten.

[pokefan]

Originally Posted by O_V_N

We can have our kids duke it out in lieu of UGA traveling to OSU in September. What do you say?

Totally sympathize with you re: 5am. We're right there, too.

Hell no! I'm pumped as hell for UGA to make the trip down to the Boone! Paybacks a B*tch!!

1 month 19 days and counting!!

[DarkDune]

Originally Posted by DarkDune

In our case, our son usually has a toy clutched in his hand. He basically would play with it and that would prevent him from sleeping. You could always tell he was over-tired though cause he would get so sensitive. So I would do the put him back, he comes out, put him back thing...then tell him I will take the toy if he comes out again. There would be more crying when I would take it, but give him a bottle of juice or warm milk and he would soon be out. The toy was the real issue.

Now that he is older, he likes a nightlight to be on so he will stay in his room and play with the legos I had 29 years ago (whole other story), until he falls asleep. When they get older, they learn to play in there room

These nightlights are AWESOME for kids, and only $20 at Target, Babies R Us, etc.:

Tykelight Glomate


If you get one the same color as your HT LED backlights, they'll never know the difference!

[Teabaggins]

Originally Posted by Psychonaut

I knew when I saw Teabaggins was the last one to post that he had stolen the alcohol trick from me.

I have a child coming in 3 months so I'd better get ready. Courtney Love's book on child rearing is a god send and has helped me out a great deal with preparation.

you can find it at barnes & nobles, it's called "Stfu and Drink/Smoke/Inject This, My Sweet Angel"

[Chordata]

Originally Posted by Deads3t

I like the idea of staying in your room, read and play. That would work till they hit kindergarten.

Problem for us is our daughter would rather hang out with us than her books and toys.

[DarkDune]

Originally Posted by DarkDune

These nightlights are AWESOME for kids, and only $20 at Target, Babies R Us, etc.:

Tykelight Glomate


If you get one the same color as your HT LED backlights, they'll never know the difference!

Here is an image:



Known for keeping their interests in their own room

[Sylin]

Originally Posted by O_V_N

Have a 3 year old who's been in a "big girl" bed for nearly a year. Within the last 2 months, however, as soon as we put her down at night, she immediately gets up and comes out of her room.

Then we put her back, and she does it again. And again. And again. For hours. There's lots of hugging, kidding, crying, yelling, shaking of heads, "potty!" breaks, etc.

For those of you that have encountered this, how'd you get through it? What worked for you?

Yes, this forum is now my personal Parents Magazine forum.

I've gone through this with 3 kids and each one had a somewhat different solution that worked.

For my oldest, we put a locking doorknob on her door with the lock facing out to the hallway. We'd lock her in, and then after she fell asleep we'd unlock the door and leave it slightly ajar, in the event of emergencies or late-nite potty breaks. She cried at first, but soon accepted it. Granted, this was only after many, many other methods were tried, without success. The idea actually came from our pediatrician.

For my 2nd child, we read to her and by the end of the book she was out. Easiest of the bunch!

My son (youngest child) he is a regular Houdini. We're in a new house now, and I didn't want to fool with the whole locking-door tactic again, so now we just give him a Melatonin (regulates sleep) with his Flintstones vitamin after dinner, and he tends to fall asleep on his own at a reasonable hour (9:00-ish). This was also our pediatrician's idea, because he had an irregular sleep pattern. He'd fall asleep at 4 in the afternoon, wake up at 10 pm and want to play until 3 am. Or he'd fall asleep at midnight and wake up at 4 am and wander the house or even (gasp) go outside.

The idea of behavior correction, with any child, particularly if they're stubborn, is to show you have more resolve than they do. Don't lose your temper. Always be consistent and even. Do NOT give in to crying, tantrums, etc. It's counter-productive and resets your efforts back to Square 1. Realistically speaking, it takes human beings about 21-28 days to turn an action into a habit. So if you keep at it, they'll soon learn you're not backing down and will accept the example you've set for them.

[Another_Dude]

I think that as a parent you just have to be creative. Every child is different and what works for one may not work for another. It is important that your child understands that you love them, but they have to stay in their place because its the right thing to do.

[Blu-Benny]

our daughter did this 1 night not long after our son was born. it's sad to say, we put up the dog gate in her doorway and let her cry it out.

she passed out on the floor, picked her up, put her in bed, hasn't happend since.

[Bizdady]

I have a 16month old that refuses to stay in his crib. He will fall asleep in our bed so I move him once he knocks down but he wakes up at 2am and then I have to bring him back in. Kids i tell you!

[Deadset]

Just a note, you can get those door knob covers that prevent them from opening doors b/c they spin and don't grab the handle.

[Purplegrasshopper]

Originally Posted by Sylin

We'd lock her in

Originally Posted by Sylin

so now we just give him a Melatonin (regulates sleep) with his Flintstones vitamin after dinner.

I don't believe in drugging your kids or locking them in a room. That is borderline child abuse imo.

To the OP: You mentioned she keeps coming out of the room. Well, keep putting her back. Who cares that it takes hours. Being a parent is not easy. It's about consistency and a battle of will power. The second you give in, you've taught them the wrong lesson. Sooner or later, the child will learn that when you put her in bed, she needs to stay there. Your daughter is testing you, nothing more. Don't get lazy; keep putting her back in the bed, no matter how many times she gets up and comes out and no matter how long she does it for.

[DetroitSportsFan]

Originally Posted by Deads3t

Just a note, you can get those door knob covers that prevent them from opening doors b/c they spin and don't grab the handle.

My in-laws have some of those at their house, and it looks like I'm going to have to invest in these at our house. They work well.